Motion-picture machine



A. J. RODERICK.

MOTION PICTURE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. ll, 1-920.

1,347,875. Patented July 27, 1920.

Q 2 SHEETS-SHEET I. fTG'J. v 52:12- 6 -INVENTDIRL M A. J. RODERICK.

MOTION PICTURE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11, 1920. Paton-tad 27, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- //v VEM TaR-i Bil T Fr.

ARTHUR J. RODERICK, or JACKMAN, MAINE.

MOTION-PICTURE MACHINE.

etters.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented, July 27, 19 20.

Application filed March 11, 1920. Serial No. 364,891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. RoDnnioK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jaclnnan, in the county of Somerset and State of Maine, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Motion-Picture Ma chines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for supplying films to a motion picture projecting machine, and for taking up the'films after their passage through the machine, and especially to film-supplying and taking-up means organized to cooperate with two independent films, in such manner that .the films may be'passed successively through the machine, one film following the other.

The invention is embodied in the improve ments, hereinafter described and claimed, in means for successively delivering and taking up two independent films.

@f the drawings forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motion picture projecting machine having filmdelivering and take-up means embodying the invention, a portion of the casing being removed, and portions of the projecting machine not necessary for an understanding of the invention being omitted.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 1.

Fig. is a fragmentary section on line Moi Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 2, looking toward the right, the usual housing containing the-condensers and lens of the projecting machine being shown in elevation.

Fig. 7 is an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 6, shown partly in section.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10, are fragmentary views, showing the shoes, stud, and cam lever hereinafter described.

The same reference characters indicate th same parts in all of the'figures.

lln the drawings, 12 represents the casing of a motion picture projecting machine provided with a suitable housing 13 (Fig. 6) containing the usual condensers and lens. 14; represents the usual motor-driven shaft from which motion is communicated, through suitable connections, to the usual moving parts of the machine not included in my invention, and to the feed rolls and take-up reels hereinafter described, forming essential elements of the invention. It will be understood-that the structure illustrated by the drawings and not described hereinafter, is well known, and that a description of the same is not necessary.

Mounted on one end of the casing 12, is a supply reel box 16, in which two supply reels 17 are removably inserted and journaled to rotate loosely, the box being preferably subdivided into two compartments by a partition 18 between the reels. Each of said compartments contains a pair of feed rolls 19 and 20, the rolls 19 being journaled in fixed bearings and adapted to be driven as hereinafter described, while the feed rolls 20 are journaled in swinging supports 21 and pressed by, springs 22 toward the feed rolls 19.

A. Y-shaped film guide is provided composed of flattened tubular branches 23, 23, and a flattened tubular trunk 24, to conduct a film 26 from either of the reels 17 into the casing 12, each of the branches 23 being arranged as shown by Fig. 6, to receive a film from a pair of feed rolls, and the. trunk 24: being arranged to deliver the film to the usual film-controlling mechanism of the machine, said mechanism including a driven sprocket wheel 27 The feed rolls 19 are adapted to be driven A alternately by a driving mechanism including a driving member and having manually operable meansfor connecting the positively driven member of either pair of feed rolls with the guiding member, leaving the other pair idle, and for disconnecting the posi- 'tively driven members of both pairs of feed are attached bevel gears 32, 32, the hub being connected with the shaft by suitable means such as a key or feather 33 (Fig. 3). To the shaft of each feed roll 19 is attached a bevel gear 34. ll he arrangement is such that when one of the bevel gears 32 is en- Mi l gaged with the gear 34 of one of the feed rolls 19, the other gear 32 is out of engagement with the gear 34 of the other feed roll 19, as shown by Fig. 3. The arrangement is also such that the gears 32 may be moved to a neutral position, out of engagement with each of the gears 34.

The said manually operative means is embodied in a two-armed lever '35, fulcrumed at 36 to a fixed support. One arm of said lever is forked and engaged with a groove in the hub 31. With the other arm of the lever 35 is connected one end of a connecting rod 37, the opposite end of which is connected with one arm of a bellcrank lever 38, fulcrumed at 39. With the other arm of the lever 38 is connected at one end a rod 40, the opposite end of which is connected with a hand lever 41, fulcrumed at 42.

It will now be seen that movements of the hand lever 41 cause the shifting of the gears 32 to either of the positions above mentioned, so that provision is made for causing either pair of feed rolls to draw a film 26 from the corresponding supply reel 17, and for rendering each pair of feed rolls inoperative. I have provided as a means for yieldingly maintaining the gears 32 in each of the described positions, a curved resilient shoe 43 attached to a fixed support and acting as a brake, bearing on one end of'the lever 35, and preventing loose accidental movement of said lever.

Within the casing 12, and at opposite sides of the usual opening 12 (Fig. 2) through which light is projected, from the usual source of illumination, are the usual film shoes 44, indicated conventionally by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and by full lines in Fig. 6, said shoes being connected to move in unison, and normally pressed by a spring 45 toward the side of the casing, along which the film travels. The shoes 44 are thus caused to press a portion of the film against the casing, and prevent loose movement of the film. This condition prevails when the gears 32 are in their neutral position and the machine is at rest. To separate the shoes from the film and permit free movement of the latter when either of the gears 32 is in its operative position, the usual stud or push piece 44 is provided, which passes through a guide in the casing at one side of the opening 12*, as best shown by Fig. 2. The stud 44 is hollow, and one end of the spring 45 bears on the closed outer end of the stud, its other end bearing on any suitable fixed abutment within the casing. The stud 'has heretofore been pushed inward by hand, to separate the shoes from the-film, but in accordance with my invention, the stud is pushed inward automatically by a cam lever 46 fulcrumed at 47 to a fixed support on the exterior of the casing, and pivfree to press the shoes against the film.

.When the rod 40 is moved up or down to move one gear 32, or the other, to its operative position, the face of the lever 46 is inclined, as shown by Figs. 9 and 10, and forces the stud inward, and separates the shoes from the film.

To the shoes are fixed a pair of guide rods 44, (Fig. 2), movable in guides in the casing.

49 represents a take-up reel box mounted on the end of the casing 12, opposite the end on which the box 16 is mounted. Journaled inbearings in the box 49 are two take-up reels 50.

I provide take-up reel driving mechanism including a driving member, separable driving connections between said member and the take-up reels, and manually operable means for connecting either take-up reel with the driving member, leaving the other reel idle, and disconnecting both reels from the driving member.

Said driving mechanism as here shown, is embodied in gears 51, 51, fixed to the shafts of the reels 50, and an intermediate gear 52 driven by the main shaft 14 through suitable connections, which preferably include a pulley 53 attached to the shaft 54 of the intermediate gear, and a belt 55 engaged with said pulley.

The intermediate gear 52 is shiftable edgewise into engagement with either of the gears 51, and is adapted to occupy a neutral position out of engagement with each of the gears '51, as shown by Fig. 1.

To shift the intermediate gear 52, I preferably provide the means next described. 56 (Figs. 4 and 5) represents a cylindrical shifting member, journaled in fixed bearings 57 in thebox 49, and provided with a pinion 58, whereby it may be rotated on its own axis. The member 56 is provided with an eccentric bore 59 constituting a bearing for the shaft 54. The member 56 is adapted to be turned to locate the shaft 54 in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 5, and

old the intermediate gear 52 in its neutral position, and to locate the shaft 54 in either of the dotted line positions shown by Fig. 5, thus shifting the intermediate gear into engagement with one or the other reel gear 57.

To turn the shifting member 56 I provide a two-armed lever 60, fulcrumed at 61. One arm of said lever is provided with a segmental rack 62, meshing with the pinion 58. The other arm of said lever is con nected by a rod 63 with a hand lever 64,

which is fulcrumed at 65 to a fixed support. It will now be seen that movements of the hand lever 64: cause the intermediate gear 52 to engage either of the reel gears 51, or to occupy a neutral position between said gears.

An inverted Y-shaped film guide is provided to conduct film from the casin 12 into either end portion of the box 49. aid guide includes a flattened tubular trunk 66, which is tangentially arranged relatively to a sprocket wheel 67 forming a part of the usual film-controlling mechanism within the casing 12, and flattened tubular branches, 68, 68, which diverge from the trunk 66 toward thetake-up reels 50. The inverted Y-shaped guide is provided with a switch 69, pivoted'at 70, and adapted to defiect a film from the trunk 66 into either of the branches 68, as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 7. The switch is provided with oppositely projecting weighted arms 71, 71, whereby it may be moved to either position, said arms yieldingly main-' taining the switch in the position to which it is moved.

It will now be seen that a film on either of the supply reels 17 may be fed into the casing 12, and guided from said casing to the corresponding take-up reels 50, and that when one film has been completely transferred from a supply reel to a take-u reel, the other film may be similarly supp ied to the machine and taken upby the take-up reels. v j

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the character stated, comprising a motion picture projecting machine, a supply reel box at one end of the machine, having means for loosely supporting two supply reels, two pairs of feed rolls, one pair arranged to cooperate with one of the supply reels, and the other pair with the other supply reel, in delivering a film to the projecting machine, one member of each pair being ositively driven, a teed-roll driving mec anism including a driving member, and having manually operable means for connecting the positively driven member of either pair of feed rolls with the driving member, leaving the other pair idle, and for disconnecting the positively driven members of both pairs of feed rolls from the driving member, a take-up reel box at the opposite end of the machine, a pair of take-up reels in said box, reel-driving mechanism including adriving member, separable driving connections between said member and the take-up reels, and manually operable means for connecting either take-up reel with the driving member, leaving the other reel idle,-and for disconnecting both reels from the driving member.

2. An apparatus'substantially as specified by claim 1, comprising also a t -shaped film guide extending from the supply reel-box into the projecting machine, and including from either of said branches,and to deliver the film to feeding means in the projecting machine. y

3. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, comprising also an inverted Y- shaped film guide extending from the projecting machine into the take-up reel box, and including a trunk portion arranged to receive a film from feeding means in the projectingmachine, and branches diverging from the trunk portion, and each adapted to deliver a film to one of the take-up reels, said guide being provided with an oscillatory switch adapted to direct a film from the trunk portion into either said branches.

4:. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said feed-roll driving mechanism, and tne manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in a driving shaft having a pair of hub-connected driving bevel gears, rotatable by and slidable on said shaft in unison, driven bevel gears fixed to the positively driven feed rolls, and adapted to cooperate,- as described, with said driving gears, a two-armed lever,

one arm of which is engaged with the hub of said driving gears, and means for swingmg said lever to move said driving gears to either 0t two operative positions and to a neutral position.

5. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said feed roll driving mechanism, and the manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in a driving shaft having a pair of hub-connected driving bevel gears, rotatable by and slidable on said shaft in unison, driven bevel gears fixed to the positively driven feed rolls, and adapted to cooperate, as described, with said driving gears, a two-armed lever, one arm of which is engaged with the hub of said driving gears, and means for swinging said lever to move said driving gears to either of two operative positions and to a neutral position, means being provided for yieldingly maintaining the driving gears in each of their operative positions and in their neutral position.

6. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said feed-roll driving mecha nism, and the manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in a driving shaft having a pair of hub-connected driven bevel gears, rotatable by and slidable on said shaft in unison, driven bevel gears fixed to the positively driven feed rolls, and adapted to cooperate, as described, with said driving gears a two-armed lever, one arm of which is engaged with the hub of said driving gears, a hand lever fulcrumed on the are tween the hand lever and the said two-armed lever whereby the driving gears may be moved to either of two operative positions and to a neutral position.

7. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said take-up reel driving mechanism, and the manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in driven gears fixed to the shafts of said reels, an intermediate driving gear between said driven gears, a belt-driven shaft carrying said driving gear, and manually operable means for laterally. moving said shaft to engage the driving gear with either of said driven gears and hold the driving gear in a neutral position.

8. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said take-up reel driving mechanism, and the manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in driven gears fixed to the shafts of said reels, an intermediate driving gear between said driven gears, a belt-driven shaft carrying said driving gear, a cylindrical shifting member journaled in a fixed bearing and provided with an eccentric bore constituting a bearing in which said shaft is journaled, and manually operable means for turning said shifting member to impart lateral movement to said shaft and driving gear.

9. An apparatus substantially as specified by claim 1, the said take-up reel driving mechanism, and the manually operable means associated therewith, being embodied in driven gears fixed to the shafts of said reels, an intermediate driving gear between said driven gears, a belt-driven shaft carrying said driving gear, a cylindrical shifting member journaled in a fixed bearing and provided with an eccentric bore constituting a bearing in which said shaft is journaled, and with a pinion concentric with its periphery, a two-armed lever 'fulcrumed on a fixed support and having a rack segment on one of its arms, meshing with said pinion, and manually operable means for swinging said lever to turn said shifting member.

10. An apparatus substantially as speclfied by claim 1, comprising also film shoes normally pressed yieldingly against a portion of the film, a stud connected with said shoes and movable in a fixed guide, and a cam lever adapted to cooperate with said stud in displacing the shoes, to release the film, said lever being connected with said manually operable means, and adapted to hold the shoes displaced when either pair of feed rolls is operative.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

ARTHUR J. RODERICK. 

